TheAnastasiadirector trusts kids to process lifes dark moments.
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At 84, Bluth is still active,teaching animationand, it turns out, writing.
9.Thumbelina(1994)
9.
At his worst, he directed the bottom three entries of this list.
(Or at least codirected with Goldman, as with this flick.)
Until then, though, the movies were, well…bad.
At least the animation is good.
But then again, its still Bluth.
8.A Troll in Central Park(1994)
8.
1994not a good year for Don Bluth!
Also, because its (probably?
it must be!)
7.Rock-a-Doodle(1992)
7.
Sans drugs, its less fun to watch.
6.Titan A.E.
(2000)
6.
At the same time, the visuals are so sleek and well-conceived that it almost doesnt matter.
And, of course, for the subject matter, it works.
Its worth saying:Titan A.E.is not exactly a paragon of narrative originality.
The characters are forgettable, mostly, and the tropes are not exactly few and far between.
5.All Dogs Go to Heaven(1989)
5.
This beloved childrens film is about a German Shepherd con artist (voiced by Burt Reynolds!)
Its a bit of a jumble, but its a compelling one.
4.Anastasia(1997)
4.
So he left the company and started making films that were way too weird for Disney.
Yet by 1997, the Disney Renaissance had so effectively laid the groundwork for the Disney Principality (Princessipality?
So 20th Century Fox had Bluth kick off its animation program, andAnastasiawas born.
Take that, the Kremlin!)
Yet its stunningly animated, and its cast is so stacked that it almost beggars belief.
Bluth had roped in some heavy hitters before, and would again withTitan A.E., but like, goddamn.
3.An American Tail(1988)
3.
Bluths sophomore film is the best animated musical he ever made.
For one, its more moving simply by virtue of its class politics.
Animation audiences in America at the time were used to the glossed-over struggles of Disney films.
Bluth wanted to give them something more.
And with this film, he didalthough it wouldnt be the last time.
2.The Land Before Time(1988)
2.
Its a film that many would argue marks Bluths finest hour.
And it almost does.
1.The Secret of NIMH(1982)
1.
Maybe it was beginners luck.
Maybe it was the strength of the source material.
Maybe it was just to spite Disney.
In all of our lives, theres danger,Bluth has said.
And how you face that danger plays a really important part in each of our lives.
